Service processing system and service processing method

ABSTRACT

In a case where a service for performing specified processings of document data as one job is processed in a cooperative manner on a network, a service processing state is exhibited in a proper notice form in each job unit and in each processing unit in the job, so that the processing state can be properly recognized from the viewpoint of accounting, security and privacy.

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/372,755filed Apr. 2, 2019, which is a Continuation of application Ser. No.15/019,542 filed Feb. 9, 2016, which is a Continuation of applicationSer. No. 13/745,014 filed Jan. 18, 2013, which is a Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 12/458,359 filed Jul. 9, 2009, which in turn is aDivisional of application Ser. No. 10/661,503 filed Sep. 15, 2003, whichclaims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2003-081453 filed Mar.24, 2003. The disclosure of the prior applications is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a service processing system in which aservice for performing specified multiple processings of document datais processed in a cooperative manner on a network, and a serviceprocessing method.

Description of the Related Art

A network system is proposed in which a scanner, a facsimile machine(hereinafter referred to as a FAX), a copying machine, a compositemachine in which these are combined, a personal computer, a mail serverand the like are mutually connected to each other through a network, sothat paper documents and electronic information are shared.

The network system as stated above is configured such that for example,a document file is captured from an input system such as a scanner forreading a manuscript or a paperless FAX, and is processed by aprocessing system of image manipulation, character recognition or thelike, and then, the document file is delivered to the outside through anoutput system such as a printer or a mail server.

Here, in general, the capture of the document file, the manipulationprocessing of the captured data, and the delivery after the manipulationprocessing are independently carried out.

Thus, in the case where the capture operation of the document file, themanipulation processing operation of the captured data, and the deliveryoperation after the manipulation processing are continuously performed,an operator must make a specified setting for each of the operations.

For example, the operator uses a client terminal for collectivelymanaging the above processing devices to open, on a display part,instruction windows relating to the capture of the document file, themanipulation processing of the captured data, and the deliveryprocessing after the manipulation processing, and must perform specifiedinput operations, and therefore, the operation efficiency has been verypoor.

In order to solve this, a work flow system is conventionally introducedin which a series of processings from input to output are linked on anetwork and are carried out in previously defined order.

In the work flow system, consideration is given to a work flow generallyused in an office, such as approval and circulation, and the system isdeveloped by computerizing an existing paper-based transaction system asit is (see patent document 1, patent document 2, and patent document 3).

-   [Patent Document 1]-   JP-A-2002-99686-   [Patent Document 2]-   JP-A-2001-325389-   [Patent Document 3]-   JP-A-2001-195295

However, although the conventional work flow system is a very effectivesystem from the viewpoint of operation efficiency, it has not beenperfect from the viewpoint of accounting and security.

That is, in the case where the processing along the work flow is carriedout, since it is impossible to confirm by a client terminal that theprocessing by plural processing devices has been carried out, it hasbeen difficult to grasp the progress of a job set as the work flow.

Thus, it is conceivable that a setting is made in such a fixed way thateach of the processing devices reports the progress thereof when theprocessing of the processing device is carried out. However, forexample, in the case where a document or the like handled by theprocessing device is a document or the like permitted to be read outonly in the work flow, a report is also made under the situation inwhich it is not permitted, and this can be a problem from the viewpointof security or privacy.

Besides, although it is also conceivable to relegate the output of thereport of the processing situation set for the respective processingdevices, this also becomes a problem from the viewpoint of security orprivacy.

Further, with respect to the processing carried out by a systemadministrator (Key Operator), a CE (Customer Engineer) or the like,since there is also information which is desired not to be known to ageneral user (Casual User), the setting in the fixed way causes trouble.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstanceand provides a service processing system and a service processingmethod, in which in a case where a service for performing specifiedmultiple processings of document data as one job is processed in acooperative manner on a network, a service processing state is exhibitedin a proper notice form in each job unit and in each processing unit inthe job, so that the processing state can be properly recognized fromthe viewpoint of accounting, security and privacy.

According to an aspect of the invention, a service processing system inwhich a service for performing specified multiple processings ofdocument data is processed in a cooperative manner on a network, thesystem includes: an indication data creation part for creating, for eachjob as a unit of the associated processings, indication data to indicatea processing procedure of the job, and notice condition data to indicatea notice event and a notice form thereof at each processing stage in thejob; a management control part for managing progress of each of theprocessings in the job on the basis of contents recited in theindication data created by the indication data creation part; and anotice part for sending a notice during the progress of each of theprocessings in the job on the basis of contents recited in the noticecondition data.

Besides, according to another aspect of the invention, a serviceprocessing method in which a service for performing specified multipleprocessings of document data is processed in a cooperative manner on anetwork, the method includes the steps of: creating, for each job as aunit of the associated processings, indication data to indicate aprocessing procedure of the job, and notice condition data to indicate anotice event and a notice form thereof at each processing stage in thejob; managing progress of each of the processings in the job on thebasis of contents recited in the created indication data; and sending anotice during the progress of each of the processings in the job on thebasis of contents recited in the notice condition data.

Besides, according to another aspect of the invention, a job managementdevice for managing progress of each of processings in a serviceprocessing system in which a service for performing specified multipleprocessings of document data is processed in a cooperative manner on anetwork, the device includes: an indication data creation part forcreating, for each job as a unit of the associated processings,indication data to indicate a processing procedure of the job, andnotice condition data to indicate a notice event and a notice formthereof at each processing stage in the job; a management control partfor managing progress of each of the processings in the job on the basisof contents recited in the indication data created by the indicationdata creation part; and a notice part for sending a notice during theprogress of each of the processings in the job on the basis of contentsrecited in the notice condition data.

Besides, according to another aspect by the invention, a job managementdevice for managing progress of each of processings in a serviceprocessing system in which a service for performing specified multipleprocessings of document data is processed in a cooperative manner on anetwork, the device includes: an indication data reception part forreceiving, for each job as a unit of the associated processings,indication data to indicate a processing procedure of the job, andnotice condition data to indicate a notice event and a notice formthereof at each processing stage in the job; a management control partfor managing progress of each of the processings in the job on the basisof contents recited in the indication data received by the indicationdata reception part; and a notice part for sending a notice during theprogress of each of the processings in the job on the basis of contentsrecited in the notice condition data.

Besides, according to another aspect of the invention, a serviceprocessing device for processing a service in a service processingsystem in which the service for performing specified multipleprocessings of document data is processed in a cooperative manner on anetwork, the device includes: an indication data reception part forreceiving, for each job as a unit of the associated processings,indication data to indicate a processing procedure of the job, andnotice condition data to indicate a notice event and a notice formthereof at each processing stage in the job; a management control partfor managing progress of each of the processings in the job on the basisof contents recited in the indication data received by the indicationdata reception part; and a notice part for sending a notice during theprogress of each of the processings in the job on the basis of contentsrecited in the notice condition data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figure, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the outline of a document processingsystem according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the mutual relation of serviceprocessing devices configuring the document processing system accordingto the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a structure of I/F informationaccording to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a script creation screen as a GUI screen fordefining a job flow according to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a script formed in an XML formataccording to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a script creation screen displaying a noticeprocessing condition setting screen according to the first embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a script creation screen when a service ofsetting a notice processing condition according to the first embodimentof the invention is selected;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a script creation screen after the noticeprocessing condition according to the first embodiment of the inventionis set;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a clientterminal and a script creation server at the time of script creationaccording to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing of the client terminal, ascript management server and a cooperative processing server accordingto the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing an example of a servicecooperative processing selection screen 110 displaying a script listaccording to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a notice processing selection controlroutine interrupting at the time of notice event occurrence according tothe first embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the mutual relation of serviceprocessing devices configuring a document processing system according toa second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

(System Configuration)

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a documentprocessing system 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention.

The document processing system 1 is such that various services andapplications are connected through a network 5. Here, the service is afunction usable on a document in accordance with a request from theoutside. The service is equivalent to, for example, copy, print, scan,facsimile transmission and reception, mail delivery, storing intorepository and readout from repository, OCR (Optical CharacterRecognition) processing, noise removal processing, and the like, and isnot particularly limited.

The document processing system 1 specifically includes a client terminal10 provided with a user interface and for linking plural services witheach other to indicate a desired processing of a user, a serviceretrieval server 20 for retrieving a desired service of the user, ascript creation server 30 for creating a script from informationrelating to the service cooperation indicated by the client terminal 10,a script management server 40 for managing the script, and a cooperativeprocessing server 50 for executing a cooperative processing of therespective services in accordance with the script.

Further, the document processing system 1 includes an image processingdevice 61 for performing an image processing such as a noise removalprocessing of an image document, an image rotation processing, an OCRprocessing, and binding of images, a document management server 62 formanaging documents, a document delivery server 63 for deliveringdocuments, a first service processing device 64 for performing a firstservice processing, and a second service processing device 65 forperforming a second service processing.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, although the document processingsystem 1 has the configuration in which the plural servers forperforming specific service processings are connected through thenetwork 5, as long as the plural services are connected through thenetwork 5, the configuration is not particularly limited.

Here, the script is data containing, in a case where a series ofprocessings are decomposed into plural functional processings,information expressing a relation among the respective functions,interface (I/F) information for invoking the respective functions, andinformation for configuring a graphical user interface (GUI) relating tothe series of processings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the mutual relation of therespective service processing devices configuring the documentprocessing system 1. Each of the service processing devices stores I/Finformation expressing the contents of the service provided by itself.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the structure of the I/F information. The I/Finformation is constituted by <Service Class>, <Service Name>, <ServiceIcon>, <Service Location Information>, <Input>, <Output>, <ParameterRestriction Rules>, <Service Location>, <Method Name>, <InvocationScheme>, <Implicit Elements> and <Notice Information>.

The <Service Class> is a class of the service provided by the serviceprocessing device. Incidentally, what is previously defined is used asthe <Service Class> and is equivalent to, for example, scan, print,repository, flow and the like. The <Service Name> is a name of theservice provided by the service processing device. The <Service Icon> isposition information of an icon displayed on the GUI of the clientterminal 10.

The <Service Location Information> is a URL which the script creationserver 30 uses for acquiring the I/F information. The <Input> is aninput to the service. The <Output> is an output from the service. The<Parameter Restriction Rules> are restriction rules applied to the<Input> and the <Output>. The <Service Location> is position informationwhen the service is actually used. The <Method Name> is a provisionmethod of a service processing.

The <Invocation Scheme> is a scheme for invoking and starting theservice processing. Incidentally, as the <Invocation Scheme>, forexample, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) as the protocol of messageexchange, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), or the like can be used.The <Implicit Elements> are not data which are explicitly delivered asthe output to a later stage processing, however, they are data which canbe consulted at the later stage processing.

The <Notice Information> is information concerning the progress state ofa processing in each service, and for example, a notice form asdescribed below is recited.

(1) In the respective servers (the service retrieval server 20, thescript creation server 30, the script management server 40, etc.), inthe case where an access occurs, contact with an administrator of theserver is made.

(2) In the respective services (copy, print, scan, facsimiletransmission/reception, etc.), in the case where a paper jam at the timeof manuscript feed, a copy paper jam, or the like occurs at the time ofpoint when the processing is completed, the processing is suspended.

The client terminal 10 has the function of a graphical user interface(GUI) for performing a screen display and for performing a specificoperation in order to instruct the creation of a script or to select ascript to be invoked.

The service retrieval server 20 retrieves a service corresponding to aretrieval condition from plural services connected to the network 5. Theservice retrieval server 20 previously stores part of the I/Finformation (hereinafter referred to as “partial I/F information”) (seeFIG. 3 ) of various service processing devices, such as the imageprocessing device 61, the document management server 62, the documentdelivery server 63, the first service processing device 64, and theservice processing device 65. Here, the partial I/F information is theinformation of <Service Class>, <Service Name>, <Service LocationInformation>, <Input>, and <Output> in the elements of the I/Finformation.

When the retrieval condition is transmitted from the script creationserver 30 or the cooperative processing server 50, the service retrievalserver 20 uses the partial I/F information of the respective serviceprocessing devices to retrieve the service. For example, when a servicesimilar to a specific service is retrieved, the service retrieval server20 may retrieve services which are coincident to each other in the<Service Class>, or may retrieve services which are coincident to eachother in the <Input> and <Output>, or may retrieve services which arecoincident to each other in all of these.

At the time of creation of the script, the script creation server 30acquires the I/F information from the respective service processingdevices, and creates the script for linking the services provided by therespective service processing devices with each other. The scriptcreation server 30 specifically executes the following processing tocreate the script.

The script creation server 30 requests specific service processingdevices dispersed on the network 5 to transmit the I/F informationrelating to the respective services on the basis of the <ServiceLocation Information>. Incidentally, in the case where the specificservice processing device does not exist, the script creation server 30instructs the service retrieval server 20 to retrieve another serviceprocessing device performing the same service as the specific serviceprocessing device. Then, the script creation server 30 has only toacquire the <Service Location Information> of the another serviceprocessing device from the service retrieval server 20.

The script creation server 30 manages the retrieval result from theservice retrieval server 20 and the I/F information received from therespective service processing devices. The script creation server 30creates an HTML file which becomes a GUI screen for defining a job flowon the basis of the I/F information acquired from the respective serviceprocessing devices. When receiving a browse request for services fromthe client terminal 10, the script creation server 30 transmits the HTMLfile which becomes the GUI screen to the client terminal 10.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a script creation screen 100 as the GUI screenfor defining the job flow. The script creation screen 100 is constitutedby a service window 101, a flow window 102, a logic window 103, and aproperty window 104.

The service window 101 displays various usable service processingdevices. The logic window 103 displays the job flow showing cooperationpatterns among the services. The property window 104 displays detailedsetting parameters of respective icons displayed on the service window101 and the logic window 103.

The user can define the job flow on the flow window 102 by dragging anddropping icons of the service window 101 and icons of the logic window103 to the flow window 102. The user further edits the contentsdisplayed on the property window 104 and can set services and logics indetail.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6 , a notice condition menu 200B is set on a toolmenu 200A of a pull-down menu 200 of the script creation screen 100.

The notice condition menu 200B is a menu which functions when any one ofthe icons in the service window 101, which was dragged and dropped onthe flow window 102, is selected (reverse display) (FIG. 7 shows, as anexample, a state in which a FAX icon is selected).

That is, when the notice condition menu 200B is selected in the statewhere some icon is selected, a notice setting screen 202 as shown inFIG. 6 is displayed.

Two check boxes of “set” and “not set” are provided on the noticesetting screen 202, and it is possible to select whether or not a noticecondition is especially set for the selected icon (service).

In the case where “not set” is selected (the check box 204 is checked),notice recognized by the I/F information is executed.

In the case where “set” is selected (the check box 206 is checked), acondition item setting screen 208 in the notice setting screen 202becomes effective, notice information of the selected icon is displayed,and the notice information is successively selected, so that a specialnotice condition as a script is inputted (set) to a notice conditionsetting screen 210.

For example, in the case where the selected icon is FAX, as the noticeinformation, “Transmission report is outputted at the time oftransmission completion”, “Notice is sent when unreadable document dataexists”, and the like are displayed as a list. As one of them,“Transmission report is outputted at the time of transmissioncompletion” is selected, and as the notice condition added to theindication data, “Mail transmission is made to client terminal at thetime of transmission completion (report output is not made)” can be set.Incidentally, with respect to such setting, the notice condition may beset in a job unit (that is, common to plural services), not for eachservice (FAX, etc.).

Besides, as a matter of course, since the setting is made in aninteractive manner with the user in the above, the notice condition isset in the document form, however, similarly to the flow window 102(GUI), it is internally processed in a program language.

As described above, when the notice condition different from the noticeinformation (I/F information) previously set in the respective servicesis set, as shown in FIG. 8 , a mark (“#” mark with a circle in FIG. 8 )212 indicating that a special notice condition is set is attached to thepertinent icon in the flow window 102, so that it can be judged whetheror not the special notice condition is set.

The client terminal 10 transmits the job flow information defined by theoperation of the user to the script creation server 30 in accordancewith a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) format.

The script creation server 30 creates the script defining the contentsof the processing requested to the respective services, inputparameters, the way (job flow) of cooperation of the respectiveservices, and information for specifying a document as a processingobject, such as a document name and storage location information, on thebasis of the job flow information relating to the indication of theservice cooperation from the user and the I/F information of therespective services. The script is constituted by files of an XMLformat.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the script composed in the XML format. Sincethe cooperative processing itself of the plural services is alsoregarded as one service, the script has the structure in which <Flow> isadded to the I/F information shown in FIG. 3 .

The <Flow> is an element for describing the cooperation between servicesand includes <Invoke>, control structure and logic operation, elementssuch as <if> for sending a notice, and information for specifying adocument as a processing object.

The <Invoke> expresses a specific method of a service processing device,and executes invocation of a service. The element of the <Invoke>includes <Map> expressing the position information of a parameter, and<Method> of an invocation method name. The <if>, <and>, <eq> and <gt>expressing the control structure, the logic operation and the like carryout condition branching at the time of the cooperative processing andthe adjustment of parameters delivered between the services.

The script describes all information relating to the control of thecooperative processing of the services in the element of the <flow>. Bythis, the cooperative processing itself expressed by the script is alsoregarded as one service. Incidentally, the script is not limited to thestructure shown in FIG. 5 , and it is sufficient if the respectiveservices can be linked with each other.

The script creation server 30 transmits the script of the XML format asstated above to the script management server 40. Besides, in the casewhere the execution of the service cooperative processing is instructedby the user, the script creation server 30 may directly transmit thescript to the cooperative processing server 50.

The script management server 40 holds the script transmitted from thescript creation server 30, and transmits the script to the cooperativeprocessing server 50 in accordance with the request from the clientterminal 10.

The cooperative processing server 50 is a server for interpreting andexecuting the specified script. When the script is transmitted, thecooperative processing server 50 interprets the script, sequentiallyinvokes the respective service processing devices, such as the imageprocessing device 61, the document management server 62, and thedocument delivery server 63 in accordance with the order and the usemethod described in the script, and executes the cooperative processing.Besides, the cooperative processing server 50 stores the state of thecooperative processing under execution and the information of the resultof the completed cooperative processing, and notifies the state of thecooperative processing and the result in accordance with a request fromthe outside.

The cooperative processing server 50 interprets the script, and whenmaking a request to the respective service processing devices, thecooperative processing server creates individual indication informationhaving the contents of the processing request, input parameters andinformation for specifying the document as the processing object.Incidentally, the cooperative processing server 50 may describe therelation to a processing before or after a processing performed by therespective service processing devices, or the processing request may bemade in an information exchange form intrinsic to each serviceprocessing device, not the form of the script.

The image processing device 61 is a computer in which a software programfor performing an image processing function is installed. The imageprocessing device 61 performs the processing of the document on thebasis of the contents of the service processing request contained in theprocessing request from the cooperative processing server 50, the inputparameters, and the information of the processing object document.Besides, the image processing device 61 notifies the service retrievalserver 20 of the partial I/F information at the time of invocation.Further, in accordance with the request from the script creation server30, the image processing device 61 transmits the I/F informationexpressing the use method of the image processing service. The I/Finformation is used when the script is created.

The document management server 62 has a document storage function. Thedocument management server 62 carries out the storage, retrieval, andreadout of the document, the change of attribute relating to thedocument, and various processings on the basis of the informationcontained in the request from the cooperative processing server 50.Besides, the document management server 62 notifies the serviceretrieval server 20 of the partial I/F information at the time ofinvocation. Further, the document management server 62 transmits the I/Finformation expressing the use method of the document management servicein accordance with the request from the script creation server 30.

The document delivery server 63 has functions to store the acquireddocument into the indicated document management server, to perform mailtransmission or FAX transmission to an indicated transmissiondestination, and to perform a print output processing to an indicatedprinter. In accordance with the request from the cooperative processingserver 50, the document delivery server 63 performs the deliveryprocessing of the document on the basis of the document indicated by theclient terminal 10 and the information of the delivery destination.Besides, the document delivery server 63 notifies the service retrievalserver 20 of the partial I/F information at the time of invocation.Further, the document delivery server 63 transmits the I/F informationexpressing the use method of the document delivery service in accordancewith the request from the script creation server 30.

The first service processing device 64 is a device for performing aspecific service processing relating to the document in accordance withthe instruction from the outside. Here, the first service processingdevice 64 carries out the service processing to be executed by itself onthe basis of information such as the contents of the processing requestfrom the cooperative processing server 50, the input parameters, and theinformation for specifying the document as the processing object.Besides, the first service processing device 64 notifies the serviceretrieval server 20 of the partial I/F information at the time ofinvocation. Further, the first service processing device 64 transmitsthe I/F information expressing the use method of the service processingin accordance with the request from the script creation server 30.Incidentally, the second service processing device 65 operates similarlyto the first service processing device 64 except for the contents of theservice processing.

In the document processing system 1 configured as described above, whenapplication programs for executing specific services are installed inthe respective service processing devices such as the image processingdevice 61, the document management server 62, and the document deliveryserver 63, they operate as follows.

The service processing devices, such as the image processing device 61,the document management server 62, and the document delivery server 63,notify the service retrieval server 20 of the partial I/F informationcontaining the information expressing the respective service summariesand addresses at the invocation processing.

The service retrieval server 20 stores the partial I/F informationtransmitted from the respective service processing devices such as theimage processing device 61, the document management server 62 and thedocument delivery server 63. By this, when a specific service retrievalrequest is issued from, for example, the script creation server 30 orthe cooperative processing server 50, the service retrieval server 20can perform retrieval by using the partial I/F information.

(Creation of Script)

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the clientterminal 10 and the script creation server 30 at the time of creatingthe script.

The client terminal 10 accesses a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of anHTML file created for the user interface screen provided by the scriptcreation server 30 through an installed browser in accordance with theoperation of the user (step 250).

The script creation server 30 transmits the HTML file of the userinterface screen to the client terminal 10 in accordance with the browserequest from the client terminal 10 (step 252).

The client terminal 10 displays the user interface screen on the basisof the HTML file transmitted from the script creation server 30 (step254). At this time, the user can define a desired service cooperationjob flow by using the user interface screen displayed on the clientterminal 10.

The client terminal 10 judges whether or not the job flow is definedthrough the user interface screen, and stands by until the job flow isdefined (step 256).

When it is judged that the job flow is defined, at next step 258, it isjudged whether or not a notice condition definition exists.

That is, in the case where the notice condition defined in the job flow,which is different from notice conditions previously set for theindividual services, is specified, the procedure proceeds to step 260,and it is added as an additional element of the definition of the jobflow so that this specified notice condition becomes effective in thepertinent service.

Incidentally, the setting of the notice condition is performed in thefollowing procedure.

First, a service is selected from the job flow defined on the completedflow window 102 in order to set the notice condition. For example, inthe case where FAX is selected, a pointer is placed on the FAX icon andselection is made by a specific operation (for example, one click of amouse). The selected FAX icon is highlighted (see FIG. 7 ).

In the above selection state, the notice processing condition menu 200Bis selected from the tool menu 200A of the pull-down menu 200.

When the notice processing condition menu 200B is selected, the noticesetting screen 202 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed.

On the notice setting screen 202, when “set” is selected (the check box206 is checked), the condition item setting screen 208 in the noticesetting screen 202 becomes effective, the notice condition of theselected icon is displayed, and notice conditions are successivelyselected, so that a special notice condition as a script is inputted(set) to the notice condition setting screen 210.

When the above setting is completed and the notice setting screen 202 isclosed, as shown in FIG. 8 , the “#” mark 212 indicating that thespecial notice condition is set is attached to the icon in the flowwindow 102, so that it is possible to visually judge whether or not thespecial notice condition is set.

When judging that the job flow is created, the client terminal 10transmits the job flow information relating to the service cooperationdefined by the user to the script creation server 30.

The script creation server 30 creates the script defining the contentsof the processing to be requested to the respective services, inputparameters, the way of cooperation of the respective services, andinformation for specifying a document as a processing object, such as adocument name and storage location information, on the basis of theinformation relating to the job flow transmitted from the clientterminal 10 and the I/F information acquired from the respective serviceprocessing devices (step 262). The script creation server 30 transmitsthe script of the XML format to the script management server 40.

The script management server 40 stores the script created by the scriptcreation server 30. The script management server 40 stores pluralscripts created by the script creation server 30, and reads out aselected script when a selection instruction of a script is issued fromthe client terminal 10.

(Invocation and Execution of Cooperative Processing)

The user selects a desired script among the plural scripts stored in thescript management server 40, and can invoke the cooperative processing.Specifically, this is as follows:

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the client terminal 10,the script management server 40 and the cooperative processing server50.

The client terminal 10 accesses the script management server 40 andacquires the script list managed by the script management server 40(step 270).

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a service cooperation processingselection screen 110 expressing the script list. The service cooperationprocessing selection screen 110 has buttons 111 to 116 for selectingscripts for the respective scripts. The user can select the script byclicking a desired button from the service cooperation processingselection screen 110.

The client terminal 10 selects the script expressing the specificservice cooperation processing from the service cooperation processingselection screen 110 on the basis of the operation instruction of theuser, and instructs the invocation of the script.

The script management server 40 transmits the script indicated by theclient terminal 10 to the cooperative processing server 50 (step 272).As a result, the cooperative processing server 50 starts the executionof the cooperative processing.

The cooperative processing server 50 interprets the script transmittedfrom the script management server 40, and requests the image processingdevice 61 as the first processing described in the script to execute thefirst service processing (step 274). Specifically, the cooperativeprocessing server 50 extracts the location of the service processingdevice to which the processing request is made, the input parameter andoutput parameter form necessary for the processing request, the methodname for the processing request, the invocation scheme, and theinformation for specifying the processing object document on the basisof the information described in the script, and creates individualindication information. The cooperative processing server 50 transmitsthe individual indication information to the image processing device 61as the first processing request destination.

The image processing device 61 copies the processing object document andacquires the document on the basis of the location information of thestorage destination of the processing object document described in thetransmitted script. The image processing device 61 interprets thecontents of the service processing request with respect to the acquireddocument image, performs the image processing such as noise removal orOCR processing, and performs a processing to bind it to the extractedtext document. The image processing device 61 again stores into theoriginal storage destination the document in which the image documentobtained by the image processing and the text document are bound. Whenthe processing as stated above is completed, the image processing device61 transmits the processing result, such as the status information(completion) of the processing, the output parameters, and the documentstorage destination information after the processing, to the cooperativeprocessing server 50.

When receiving the processing result from the image processing device61, the cooperative processing server 50 manages the result of the firstprocessing request as a log. Then, the cooperative processing server 50specifies a second processing request destination on the basis of thescript, and requests the document management server 62 to perform asecond service processing (step 276). Similarly to the first serviceprocessing request, the cooperative processing server 50 transmitsindividual indication information (information of storing a document asinformation relating to the processing request, information of a storagedestination of the document, and information to specify the processingobject document) to the document management server 62.

On the basis of the contents of the request of the cooperativeprocessing server 50, the document management server 62 performs, on thebasis of the storage destination information described in the requestcontent, a storage processing of the document processed and stored inthe former processing (first service processing). When the processing asstated above is completed, the document management server 62 transmitsthe processing result, such as the status information (completion) ofthe processing, the output parameter, and document storage destinationinformation after the processing, to the cooperative processing server50.

When receiving the processing result of the second service processing(document storage processing), the cooperative processing server 50manages the result of the second processing request as a log. Thecooperative processing server 50 specifies a third processing requestdestination on the basis of the script, and requests the documentdelivery server 63 to carry out a third service processing (step 278).Similarly to the second service processing request, the cooperativeprocessing server 50 transmits individual indication information(information of storing a document as information relating to theprocessing request, information of a storage destination of thedocument, and information to specify the processing object document) tothe document delivery server 63.

On the basis of the contents of the request of the cooperativeprocessing server 50, with respect to the document processed and storedin the former processing (second service processing), the documentdelivery server 63 reads out the document file on the basis of theinformation (storage destination information) to specify the document,and performs the processing described in the contents of the request.Here, the document delivery server 63 mails only a text document to amail address specified as a delivery destination in the document inwhich the text document and the image document are bound, and faxes onlythe image document to a FAX number. When the processing is completed,the document delivery server 63 transmits the processing result, such asthe status information (completion) of the processing, the outputparameter, and document storage destination information after theprocessing, to the cooperative processing server 50.

In this processing, for example, in the FAX transmission processing, inthe case where the opposite party was engaged on the phone, and even ifa retry was performed a predetermined number of times, the connectionwith the opposite party could not be established, the document deliveryserver 63 transmits the status information “mail transmission;completed, FAX transmission: non-transmission” to the cooperativeprocessing server 50.

The cooperative processing server 50 receives the processing result fromthe third service processing, and when judging that a next processing isnot described in the script, the cooperative processing server 50notifies the client terminal 10 that all processings are completed, andends the cooperative processing (step 280).

Incidentally, in this embodiment, although the service retrieval server20 acquires part (partial I/F information) of the I/F information fromthe respective service processing devices, all of the I/F informationmay be acquired.

Here, in this embodiment, although there is no problem in the case wherethe cooperative processing as stated above is properly carried out, inthe case where a notice event occurs in some service, a measure to thenotice event is simultaneously managed.

That is, the cooperative processing server 50 recognizes noticeinformation in the respective services as a piece of information in thepartial I/F information shown in FIG. 5 .

On the other hand, there is a case where a definition of a noticecondition different from notice conditions previously set for therespective services is added to the script data.

Then, when the notice event occurs in some service, it is judged whetheror not the definition of the notice condition of the service exists inthe script data, and a proper notice processing is carried out.

Hereinafter, a notice processing selection control interrupting at thetime of a notice event occurrence will be described with reference to aflowchart of FIG. 12 .

At step 300, a notice event occurrence origin service is judged, andwhen the judgment is completed, the procedure proceeds to step 302, andthe notice condition previously set for the notice event is read outfrom the partial I/F information of the notice event occurrence originservice and is made a first notice processing.

At next step 304, it is judged whether or not the definition of thenotice condition corresponding to the notice event exists in the scriptdata, and in the case of negative judgment, that is, in the case whereit does not exist in the script data, the procedure proceeds to step306, and an instruction to carry out the first notice processing isissued.

On the other hand, at the step 304, in the case of affirmative judgment,that is, in the case where the definition of the notice condition existsin the script data, the procedure proceeds to step 308, this definednotice processing is read out and is made a second notice processing,and it proceeds to step 310.

At the step 310, an instruction to carry out the second noticeprocessing is issued, and this routine is ended.

Incidentally, in the above first embodiment, although the notice at thetime of processing completion of the respective services has been mainlydescribed as the notice event, other various conditions can be set asthe notice condition. Examples of the notice condition will be describedbelow.

(1) Notice Condition Common in Job Units

When the processing of each service is completed, a notice is made tothe client terminal.

(2) Execution of a Processing Different from Indication Data

When a processing is being performed in accordance with the indicationdata, and when the pertinent service operates, a notice is made to theclient terminal.

(3) Processing Different from Indication Data by a Specific User

Since a processing carried out by a system administrator (Key Operator),a CE (Customer Engineer) or the like includes information which isdesired not to be known to a general user (Casual User), any notice isnot made.

(4) Login to a Specific Server, and Access to a Secret Document File

In the case where login to a specific server occurs, or there occurs anaccess to a secret document file stored in a server or a HDD of eachservice, a notice is made to the CE.

(5) Access to a Pay Server or Execution of Service

In the case where there is a charge for use, a notice is made to aclient terminal before the use.

Besides, as a specific method of notice, any method may be used as longas a user can clearly recognize, for example, a message transmission, amail transmission, a FAX transmission, a log record, a report output(print), a display to a user interface or the like is used, or two ormore of them may be combined and executed.

As described above, in the first embodiment, when a notice event occurs,in the case where a notice condition concerning the notice event isdefined in the indication data, a notice is made on the basis of thenotice condition defined in the indication data, to which a higherpriority is given than to the previously set notice condition, andtherefore, in the case where accounting is necessary over all jobs, orin the case where importance is attached to security or privacy, anotice most suitable for the job can be selected.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described.Incidentally, the same parts as those of the first embodiment aredenoted by the same reference numerals and the detailed description willbe omitted.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram for explaining the mutual relation amongrespective service processing devices configuring a document processingsystem 10A according to the second embodiment. The document processingsystem 10A according to the second embodiment can carry out thecooperative processing of plural services without using the cooperativeprocessing server 50 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

Incidentally, although the document processing system 10A includes theservice processing devices (except for the cooperative processing server50) shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 13 shows only the service processing devicesrelating to the cooperative processing.

(Invocation and Execution of Cooperative Processing)

A user selects a desired script among plural scripts stored in a scriptmanagement server 40 and can invoke the cooperative processing.Specifically, this is as follows.

A client terminal 10 selects a script expressing a desired servicecooperation processing from a service cooperation processing selectionscreen in accordance with the operation of the user, and instructs theinvocation of the script. The script management server 40 transmits thescript indicated by the client terminal 10 to an image processing device61.

The image processing device 61 acquires a document as a processingobject on the basis of storage destination location information of theprocessing object document described in the transmitted script. Theimage processing device 61 interprets the contents of a serviceprocessing request with respect to the acquired document image, performsthe image processing such as noise removal and OCR processing, andperforms a processing to bind it to the extracted text document. Afterthe specific image processing is ended, the image processing device 61deletes the service processing request described in the script. Then,the image processing device 61 transmits the document in which the imagedocument obtained by the image processing and the text document arebound, and the script including the processing result such as the statusinformation (completion) of the processing, the output parameter, anddocument storage destination information after the processing, to adocument management server 62 for providing a next service processing.

The document management server 62 temporarily stores the documenttransmitted from the image processing device 61 into a storagedestination described in the script. Then, the document managementserver 62 deletes the service processing request described in thescript, and transmits the document and the script to a document deliveryserver 63 for performing a next service processing.

On the basis of the script, the document delivery server 63 mails onlythe text document to a mail address specified as a delivery destinationin the document in which the text document and the image document arebound, and faxes only the image document to a specified FAX number.Then, when judging that a next processing is not described in thescript, the document delivery server 63 notifies the client terminal 10that all processings are completed, and ends the cooperative processing.

Also in the second embodiment, the addition of a notice to the scriptdata as described in the first embodiment is performed, so that a noticeprocessing most suitable for the job can be carried out in therespective services.

Incidentally, in the first and the second embodiments, in the case wherethe notice condition is defined in the indication data, the notice isalways carried out on the basis of the notice condition defined in thisindication data, however, in the case where some condition is satisfied,a higher priority is given to a notice mode set for the respectiveservices than to the notice data recited in the script, and the noticemode may be applied.

As described above, according to the invention, in the case where aservice for performing specified multiple processings of document dataas one job is processed in a cooperative manner on a network, a serviceprocessing state is exhibited in a proper notice form in each job unitand each processing unit in the job, and therefore, it is possible toobtain an excellent effect that the processing state can be properlyrecognized from the viewpoint of accounting, security, and privacy.

What is claimed is:
 1. A first information processing apparatuscomprising: a memory storing a script that describes a plurality ofprocesses, the plurality of processes including at least one processthat involves a second information processing apparatus that iscommunicable with the first information processing apparatus over anetwork; and a processor configured to: execute the script, the scriptincluding first storage location information, mail address information,and second storage location information, wherein the plurality ofprocesses include: acquiring document data of a document stored in afirst location indicated by the first storage location information;acquiring a result of an OCR processing of the document data; sendingthe result of the OCR processing of the document data to a mail addressindicated by the mail address information; and storing the result of theOCR processing of the document data in a second location indicated bythe second storage location information.
 2. The first informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality ofprocesses further include: storing the document data in the secondlocation indicated by the second storage location information.
 3. Thefirst information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thefirst location is a storage of the second information processingapparatus.
 4. The first information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the second location is a storage of the secondinformation processing apparatus.
 5. An information processing methodcomprising: storing a script in a memory, the script describing aplurality of processes, the plurality of processes including at leastone process that involves a second information processing apparatus thatis communicable with a first information processing apparatus over anetwork; and executing the script, the script including first storagelocation information, mail address information, and second storagelocation information, wherein the plurality of processes include:acquiring document data of a document stored in a first locationindicated by the first storage location information; acquiring a resultof an OCR processing of the document data; sending the result of the OCRprocessing of the document data to a mail address indicated by the mailaddress information; and storing the result of the OCR processing of thedocument data in a second location indicated by the second storagelocation information.
 6. A non-transitory computer readable mediumstoring a program causing a computer to execute a process, the processcomprising: storing a script in a memory, the script describing aplurality of processes, the plurality of processes including at leastone process that involves a second information processing apparatus thatis communicable with a first information processing apparatus over anetwork; and executing the script, the script including first storagelocation information, mail address information, and second storagelocation information, wherein the plurality of processes include:acquiring document data of a document stored in a first locationindicated by the first storage location information; acquiring a resultof an OCR processing of the document data; sending the result of the OCRprocessing of the document data to a mail address indicated by the mailaddress information; and storing the result of the OCR processing of thedocument data in a second location indicated by the second storagelocation information.